Ten new cruise ships for the world's great rivers
Frankfurt am Main (ots)
- KfW IPEX-Bank provides funding for Viking River Cruises
- Order for the building of river cruise ships placed with Neptun
Werft shipyard in RostockKfW IPEX-Bank is financing the construction of ten river cruise ships for Viking River Cruises (VRC), the world's leading river cruise company. The financing, which has a maturity of 8.5 years, totals EUR 225 million. It encompasses export credit insurance by the German government (Hermes cover) and the favourable Commercial Interest Reference Rate (CIRR).
Together with other banks, KfW IPEX-Bank had already agreed between 2011 and 2014 to finance 37 river cruise ships, each capable of carrying 190 passengers, for VRC. The current financial arrangement covers ten ships of the same type, to be delivered starting March 2016. All the vessels were, or are being, constructed in the Neptun Werft shipyard in Rostock, an affiliated company of the Papenburg-based Meyer Werft shipyard. Christian K. Murach, member of the Management Board of KfW IPEX-Bank, places a high value on the bank's long-standing cooperation with the Meyer-Neptun shipyard group: "By making financing available, we are not only contributing our structuring know-how in the maritime industry but also helping to secure jobs in Papenburg and Rostock." The bank has also had a close business relationship with Viking River Cruises for many years. "As one of the world's largest shipping financiers, we are happy to support new builds for river cruises, which are becoming more and more popular in Europe," adds Mr Murach. "With the current financing we continue the successful and long lasting corporation with Viking River Cruises," says Christian K. Murach.
Viking runs river cruises around the world, most of them in Europe, especially on the Danube, Rhine, Main, Elbe and Rhône. It also offers cruises on the Nile, Volga and Yangtze. Most of its passengers (around 80 percent) are Americans, followed by Britons and Australians. The river cruises are run on an all-inclusive basis.
KfW IPEX-Bank is Germany's leading source of shipping finance and one of the top ten in the world. Through its customised financing for new-build and conversion projects, it supports German shipyards as part of the domestic export industry and contributes to job security in the industry.
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